I expect better from HP
Two stars at best -- perhaps it should only be one. I have had this fax machine for a couple of years. A major reason for me choosing this particular one was the brand; I always had a high opinion of HP products. But this has been a big disappointment. It seems to work OK as a fax machine, although my fax needs are very limited (a couple of times a year). I use the copy feature fairly often and that is fine except that it doesn't always indicate when the ink cartridge needs to be replaced; it simply starts printing blank pages. As others have pointed out, the built-in answering machine is terrible. I struggled for well over a year to understand incoming messages and it was nearly impossible, even after listening several times. Phone numbers in particular are garbled and mostly indiscernible. I finally gave up and got a separate answering machine. I strongly advise looking for a different fax/answering machine. And shame on HP for producing such an inferior product.

i am very pleased with my HP1050
I am very pleased with my purchase. The fax arrived in a timely manner , Amazon was great with the free shipping, it was very easy to assembly and to start using it. thanks

Can't use as answerer
The sound quality on the answering machine was so poor we couldn't understand any message, and returned it--easily, thanks to Amazon's excellent return policy.

Good, affordable fax/copier
Amazon had the best price considering the free shipping.

The HP 1050 Fax works as advertised. The only problem is sometimes it grabs more than one sheet when copying.

I have spent hours faxing over the past year
I was looking for reviews of fax machines on amazon and came accross the 1050 I am replacing. As others have stated the answering component is unusable as the messages cannot be understood (the quality is similar to my childrens toys that record a phrase and play it back--very tinny and garbled). I have spent many wasted hours faxing as the machine frequently refuses to load more than a single sheet at a time when I load a document for scanning.This has often led to having to send a couple of sheets, then redial (at additional expense) and send one or two more. Ditto for the paper loading mechanism for printing. The pages frequently hang up, or the rollers attempt to pull through multiple sheets or none at all. This has often led to having to send a couple of sheets, then redial and send one or two more. Recently after 45 minutes of trying I was able to send 8 pages! It seems the things I want to fax and recieve are frequently last minute items. I only hope my children have not heard the steady streams of profanity associated with using this machine, I say this only partly in jest. I have kept using the HP 1050 because I'm cheap, and because it seems I must be paying a penance for a prior sin.
The construction is flimsy, the guide to the paper loader fell off the first month as I was loading paper, feel free to contact me for duct tape instructions for holding it on.
The only positive is that if you have a worst enemy, it would make a fine gift.